Retailers face safety scrutiny over wide-legged trousers as design costs are cut
Viral injuries from extra-long Zara trousers highlight how high-street fashion brands are using stationary mannequins instead of live fit models to reduce costs, raising consumer safety concerns despite strong sales.
Extra-long wide-legged trousers from Zara have sparked a wave of consumer injuries, prompting safety warnings on social media. Shoppers wearing the £25.99 garment have reported tripping and suffering fractured knees, bloodied limbs and broken fingernails.
One TikTok user posted a video of themselves leaving hospital in a wheelchair, stating: "These Zara pants need to come with a warning because now I have a fractured knee." Despite these viral alerts, the trousers remain a bestseller for the high-street retailer, which describes them on its website as having a loose fit and being longer than usual.
The silhouette is driving significant commercial growth across the European high street. Searches for wide-legged styles at John Lewis have risen 61 per cent year on year, with linen versions surging 225 per cent, while competitors including M&S, Mango and Next are also stocking the trend.
Industry experts argue the physical hazards stem from cost-cutting measures during the design process. Tailor Ruby Slevin, founder of Banshee of Savile Row, explained that many brands now use stationary mannequins rather than live fit models to test proportions and movement, a practice adopted to reduce expenses.
This shortcut creates a mismatch between garment proportions and the general public. The national average height for women in the UK is 162.5cm, whereas fit models typically measure around 178cm.
"Fit models are not an accurate indication of an everyday woman," Slevin noted, adding that "the length has to be in proportion to the person who is wearing it otherwise it is going to end up being problematic." She advised consumers to have their garments adjusted by a local tailor to mitigate the risk of falls. Zara did not respond to a request for comment regarding the design of its trousers.
The physical toll on consumers can be substantial, with McDonald warning that injuries can result in everything from a "whopping big bruise" to severe trauma. She noted that recovery from fractured wrists, torn ligaments and hip damage can take anywhere from six weeks to over nine months.
Fashion historians note that impractical clothing has a long history, citing 1910 hobble skirts where "locomotion is seriously impeded and speed is impossible." More recently, models like Abbey Lee Kershaw and Lindsey Wixson have suffered severe ligament tears and toe injuries on catwalks, underscoring the physical risks of prioritising silhouette over safety.
